Indecency at the check-out counter

A pro-family organization in Michigan is mobilizing forces to protest magazine displays in grocery story checkout lines. Bill Johnson’s American Decency Association says he is tired of the risqu?Š magazine displays along the checkout line, and his group wants to do something about it. “If there’s a place where Christians can win the battle against indecency, it ought to be at the checkout counter,” says Johnson. “And it’s greatly concerning to us because we believe there are numbers of people who are really alarmed by the pornographic nature, the verbiage, the actual pictures themselves [on the magazine covers].”

The vulgar nature of many of the magazines can wield an influence, he contends. “Little by little, that which we tolerate and that which we then accept … does work its way down into the very moral fiber of our country,” eventually becoming the “cultural norm,” he says. Particularly upsetting to Johnson’s group is the current issue of Cosmopolitan, which is devoted to sexual fulfillment techniques for women.

One of the sample strategies, which is sure to make store reps burst out laughing:

As you see a magazine(s) that is particularly concerning, i.e . Cosmopolitan 2006 or Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, take a copy directly to your local store manager. If he/she isn’t available, speak to an assistant manager. Show them face to face your concerns – point them to the pictures and the explicit titles. Talk about the destructive messages that degrade you as a shopper and diminishes their store.